A. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a tractor-pulled implement for harvesting ginseng roots, and more particularly, to an apparatus for harvesting ginseng roots which dramatically reduces labor costs associated with ginseng harvesting, while resulting in a highly efficient and complete harvesting of the ginseng roots.
B. Description Of The Prior Art
Ginseng is a Chinese perennial herb having an aromatic root which is highly valued in China and other parts of the world as a medicine and for other uses. Historically, ginseng has been grown in China and other parts of the world, with very little, if any being grown in the United States. In more recent years, however, various areas in the United States have been found to have the right soil conditions, weather, etc. to support the growth of this plant. The main component of the ginseng plants grown in the United States is the ginseng root. These roots are traditionally harvested by utilizing a tractor-pulled potato type digger. Such a device includes a forward digger blade which is lowered into the ground to unearth the ginseng roots and remove them from their natural state. The digger blade transfers everything which is dug from the earth, including ginseng roots, rocks, mud, weeds, grasses and other debris to a draper or hook chain conveyor which conveys the same upwardly and rearwardly. During this rearward conveyance, the soil is broken up, either by mechanical or natural chain agitation and sifts through the chain to return to the ground. Most of the ginseng roots and larger debris are conveyed to the back end of the chain conveyor and deposited back onto the ground behind the machine. Personnel are then employed to manually gather the ginseng roots. Such a harvesting method is, of course, highly labor intensive.
Because ginseng roots are small by nature, ranging from pencil size to hand size, they will occasionally shake through the chain conveyor with the soil and end up reburied by soil and other debris. Because of the high value of ginseng roots, this necessitates a second or even a third harvest to uncover and collect these additional ginseng roots.
There are, of course, a large number of automated devices currently existing which are used in the harvesting of various root crops or other fruits and vegetables. Many of these include a fan or other pneumatic flow to separate the harvested product from the rocks or other heavier debris. For example, the Gustafson Patent No. 3,107,475 discloses a nut harvesting and separating machine and uses a flow of air to separate almonds from leaves and heavier articles. The Leighton et al. Patent No. 3,227,276 relates to an air suction potato conveyor harvesting machine which utilizes an air flow to cause the potatoes to be separated from leaves and lighter objects as well as from rocks and other heavier objects. The Boyce Patent No. 3,469,691 relates to an aero-dynamic sorting device for separating smooth objects from rough, contoured objects. The Hoffman Patent No. 3,596,716 relates to a pneumatic potato harvester and functions by using an air flow or air suction to cause the potatoes to flow onto a conveyor belt, while permitting heavier objects to be discarded earlier.
Although a number of prior art patents, including those described above, utilize air flow to assist in separating the desired fruit, vegetable or other product from unwanted debris, particular problems exist in the harvesting of ginseng roots which are not present in the harvesting of these other products. First, the ginseng root is extremely valuable. At current market conditions, ginseng roots sell for as much as $63.00 per pound. Thus, it is extremely important that virtually all ginseng roots are harvested. Secondly, depending on the particular development of the ginseng root, the soil conditions and the difference in size of ginseng roots which range from pencil size to hand size, the ability to collect and harvest all of the roots becomes increasingly difficult.
Accordingly, there is a need for an automated ginseng root harvesting apparatus and implement which dramatically reduces, if not eliminates, the highly labor intensive harvesting techniques currently employed, and which results in the harvesting of virtually all of the ginseng roots in a single harvesting operation.